The fruit rain of the secondary Lauro- Fagaceae hardwood forest at Fu-Shan

From June 1992 to July 1993, 80 litter traps were installed in 1 ha area of the Fu-Shan secondary Lauro-Fagaceae hardwood foreat. Within this period, fruits in the litter traps collected were counted and weighted monthly. The fruits of 20 tree species were collected. The largest amount of fruits in the fruit rain belongs to Engelhardtia roxburgiana, next was Sapium discolor, Mallotus paniculatus, Diospyros morrisiana, and Elaeocarpus iaponica. The amount of the rain reached its peak varied with each species in this forest and that can be catgorized into three periods: (1) May to June, for Machilus species, (2) Lult to September, for Largeerstroemia subcoctata, Mallotus paniculatus, Diospyros morrisana, Elaeocapus japonica, Tutcheria shinkoensis, (3) October to December, for other spcies. Although Castanopsis carlesii var. sessilis is the dominant emergent tree in this forest, its fruit is rare in the fruit rain, which may be related to rodent consumption. The average fruit weight reached its peak at the time with the amount of fruit rain. The implication of characteristics of the fruit rain for natural regeneration of the secondary Lauro- Fagaceae hardwood forest is also discussed.